The invention will be described in the context of a car door, but it could also be used with other closures such as trunks/tailgates, or with other types of vehicles such as boats or aircraft. In a broad sense, the invention may also be used in non-vehicle applications.
A relatively recent development in the design of vehicle door handles is the retractable handle in which a flush-mounted handle is retractably mounted to the vehicle door such that the handle is flush with an outer door skin of the vehicle. This means that the handle can move between two states: a stowed or retracted state in which the handle is flush-mounted and a deployed or extended state in which the handle protrudes from the surrounding door surface so that it may be grasped by a user. The handles may be movable between the stowed and deployed states mechanically or by electrical means.
Once the handle is in the deployed state, it can be pulled, usually against a spring bias, to move the handle towards a third, operative, state to unlatch the door. In moving to the operative state the handle may unlatch the door mechanically, for example by acting on a Bowden cable coupled to the door latch, or electrically by acting on an electrical switch coupled to the latch. Examples of such a vehicle door handle are described in the applicant's co-pending US patent application no. US2013/0241215 A1 and published PCT application no. WO2012/175647.
In the example described in US2013/0241215, a strap-type handle is moveable between a stowed state in which its outer surface is flush-mounted with the door skin, and a deployed state in which the handle stands proud of the door skin. The handle is supported at its rear end by a pivotable support mechanism that guides the handle during its movement so that the handle follows a substantially straight path that is perpendicular to the plane of the door. However, since only the rear end of the handle is supported, the handle may exhibit some lateral play which may reduce the ergonomics for the user.
In the general context of retractable door handles, the handles themselves may be movable between the stowed and deployed states mechanically or by electrical means. For example, in a handle arrangement used in some cars, a flush-mounted handle comprises a bar-like handle pivotally attached near one of its ends to a door. In the stowed state the handle lies flush with the door skin and, in the deployed state, the major portion of the handle pivots away from the door skin so that a user can grasp the handle and pull it further into the operative state to unlatch the door. A user moves the handle between the stowed and deployed states simply by pressing the front end of the handle against a spring bias so that the rear portion pivots outwardly. Although this scheme provides a relatively simple mechanical action, it is rather unintuitive to use and requires a two-handed operation which is undesirable.
In contrast, an electrically-actuated scheme is implemented in some other cars. Here, a flush-mounted strap-type handle loop is actuated electrically between a stowed state in which the outer surface of the handle is flush with the door skin and a deployed state in which the outer surface of the handle is spaced from the door skin and so reveals a grab-loop which can be grasped by a user. The handle is moved from the stowed to the deployed state by means of an actuation system which senses the presence of a person next to the door or about to grab the handle and deploys the handle in response. The actuation system may also be configured to command the handle into a deployed state in response to a deployment signal transmitted by a suitable control device, for example, a remote key fob of the vehicle. Although this scheme offers a ‘surprise and delight’ feature to the user, it requires a relatively complex electrical operating system, which adds weight and cost.
It is desirable to improve the performance and ergonomics of such handle arrangements, and it is against this background that the invention has been devised.